Pollution Blamed for Strange Smog in Lagos

Independent Online, South Africa
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Lagos (Nigeria):
A build-up of pollution from factories and old cars caused the smog that enveloped much of Nigeria's largest city this week, a government spokesperson said Thursday.
Nigerian authorities ordered all schools closed in Lagos - a city of 14 million people - after a dark cloud of fumes swept in Wednesday.
Newspapers have described the unprecedented level of smog as "mystery smoke" and "mystery fumes".
Government scientists analysed the fumes and found that they resulted from the build-up of emissions from factories and old cars, Lagos state spokesperson Kehinde Bamgbetan said.
The concentration of sulphur dioxide - which causes acid rain - was particularly strong, he said, adding that the smog did not cause any deaths or injuries.
"The climate became a little bit colder, so it enabled the polluted air to develop into a smog," Bamgbetan said.
In response to the problem, the Lagos state government has told industries they will be shut down if they do not present environmental audit reports by the end of the year, he added. - Sapa-AP
Oct 13 2005